The Rundetaarn

Back blips of the long weekend in Copenhagen start here, yesterday, with a dog on a trike...

A day of loooooaaaaaddddddsssss of walking. I have no idea how far we covered, but we were utterly knackered by the end of it. The morning stroll saw me find the Sognreni bike shop (not opening till midday), and we passed the Rundetaarn, a big observatory with, as you can see, a wide walkway to the top, designed so that a horse and carriage could carry the queen to the (almost) top.

We didn't go in that that point however as we had a lunch date at Noma, a double Michelin starred restaurant on the island of Christianshavn. So we had a scoot back to the hotel for Mel to get changed, then hopped on the metro and had a nice wander up to the restaurant. And it lived up to its reputation (both in terms of quality, relaxed ambience, and cost...). The inside is great. It was here we also came across a Danish peculiarity. There was a pram parked up outside, and it was only when someone came out to check on it that we realised the child was still inside. This was great. The adults wanted a nice meal, the baby was sleeping, and it was parked, completely wrapped up, beside the window where they were eating.

Apparently this happens all over Copenhagen, since the Daily Wail has not yet convinced them that nasty men are lurking round every corner. It's something else that is just 'normal' there, with many places having multiple prams parked outside, and people looking to see if it starts moving, meaning the baby is awake and might need something, on top of regular checks. It's also not uncommon for someone to walk into a restaurant or café and say 'er, someone's baby is crying outside', and everyone who has left a child out in the pram will have a look and someone will see theirs moving, and go out to make sure it's alright. This is so normal, and so ingrained in the Danish psyche that a wee while back a Danish woman got into trouble (having her baby taken away for two days!) when she did the same thing in New York.

We're getting to really like the relaxed, liberal, pragmatic view the Danes seem to take of the world.

Anyway, stocked up on energy by a three hour lunch, we hit the streets again, this time going up the Rundetaarn, and visiting Sogreni when it opened. Other than that there was the colour of Nyhavn on show; two stick figures who were in peril; and a stack more cyclists (the best of which were the old lady with a ladder; a family outing; cruising; and a guy trying to be too cool for his own good.